Of Heart and Mind
by Dell Hopkins
Summary: "Do you find him interesting, Bambietta?" Disclaimer: The preview image is not my own, and belongs to its respected owner.
1. Chapter 1

_**Author's Note: I haven't been writing in awhile, and my two other stories have just been sitting unattended. I figured a short story would get me back into the swing of things, plus help add to Bleach Library.**_

_**Disclaimer: Bleach does not belong to me, it belongs to Tite Kubo.**_

_**7/4/2013: Well! It seems our dear adorable Bambietta is.. A Black Widow! Ha! I love it! And As Nodt was alive! HA! With Miss Basterbine's personality more defined, I think I can put some of it in the story! **_

* * *

**Chapter One**

She didn't know what to think about her current assignment.

Bambietta eyed the back of the orange haired teenager in front of her as they both walked through the hallways of the Vandenreich. On occasion, she would need to pick up her own pace in order to make up for his advantage of having much longer legs. If she didn't want to, she would tell him to slow down. It was rare for him to give a verbal response, but she didn't blame him for not doing so.

Ichigo Kurosaki was simply "recovering" from his reeducation.

The teenager had arrived three weeks ago, though not by personal choice. Juhabach, their leader, had designated him as a special war potential and that he would be a valuable addition to the hidden Quincy Empire.

Though she had been present along with a few of the other Stern Ritters who had gathered to await Ichigo's arrival, Bambietta had not had the opportunity to interact with him for the first week. As with the Arrancars from Hueco Mundo, the soon to be former soul reaper would be experiencing a lot within his first days at his new home.

The reeducation itself would be rather difficult for the orange haired male, but in the end it was necessary if he was going to adapt to life among them. She knew she wasn't the only one taking part in the process of integrating him into the ranks of the Stern Ritter elite. A few of them would be assisting in training his abilities as a Quincy when the time came, while others such as herself were given simple tasks.

Being a nursemaid for someone wasn't the most honorable assignment, but she was contributing, even though she was unsure about the specifics involving the honor of it all. If she had to guess, Bambietta would say that the glory was actually from their leader personally asking for her to take on the duty. Still, she wasn't all too keen about her role.

"Ichigo, I think we should return you to your room now. Take the next left corridor."

He turned his head back towards her, and gave a nod before speaking a single word in response.

"Alright."

Even though he spoke normal, Bambietta could tell by the look on his face that there was still a little bit of time required before he could be a full member of their army. She saw in his eyes a daze that was similar to others who had gone through the reeducation. The threat of him becoming hostile was never present in her mind though. Information had been received that his sword had been broken in its bankai state.

The event was really a positive for their goals, allowing Ichigo to more easily forget his Shinigami roots and accept his Quincy heritage over it.

A few soldiers passed by them, glancing at Ichigo and giving Bambietta acknowledgement due to the importance that she held in the Vandenreich. She responded with a nod, and refocused on the teenager in front of her. After a few minutes, they finally arrived at what had been assigned as his personal quarters. He opened the door without hesitation, and entered.

The petite Quincy followed after him, getting another look at the luxurious suite he had been given. In his current state, he wasn't really making great use of the large amount of living space that was available. As soon as he had entered, she saw that he had immediately went to the room that held the bed and flopped down upon it where he had been taken by sleep a moment later.

It caused her to give a sigh, and shake her head. She returned to the hallway, shutting the door behind her.

"Sleep well, Ichigo."

* * *

The next day, Bambietta arrived at the designated time in the evening as she had been doing since first assuming the responsibility. Knocking on the door, she stepped back and waited.

A few seconds passed, and it opened to reveal a tired looking Ichigo standing before her. He looked down at her, and blinked as if not remembering why she came to visit him regularly at this time.

She recognized his increased fatigue without skipping a beat. "Come on Ichigo, we need to get your walk in. We'll keep it short today."

With the usual dazed nod, he stepped out and began to proceed down the corridor with Bambietta behind him as always.

She noticed that he seemed a bit livelier today despite the state of his body. It was confirmed when he actually spoke a full sentence to her.

"How big is this place?" he asked her, glancing at the corridor walls.

A little bit surprised, it took her a moment to process the question before responding. "…The Vandenreich is rather large. There are a lot of sections that I myself haven't been to. But the size is required to house our army."

"Ah."

He didn't speak the rest of the walk except to tell her good bye when she returned him to his room. After the door closed, Bambietta had walked off, thinking about if she should report to Haschwald that Ichigo had asked actually spoken to her in a regular manner for the first time.

It wasn't necessary for her to do so, however. The Stern Ritter leader appeared before her a moment later, glancing in the direction of Ichigo's suite. She immediately stood at attention until he told her to be at ease.

"What did he ask you?"

Bambietta explained to the blond Quincy of what Ichigo's question had been, and informed him that he hadn't spoken anything else to her besides the farewell he had spoken when the walk had ended.

"This is a sign that his majesty is looking for," Haschwald said to her, while turning his eyes once more towards Ichigo's quarters. "I will report it to him, and inform you if anything is to be required of you."

"Yes sir."

He used Hirenyaku to disappear, leaving her once more by herself. She quickly made her way back to her room, feeling suddenly exhausted by the events that had just occurred.

* * *

She found out a few days later when Juhabach summoned her to the throne room.

Moving with haste, Bambietta made sure that her uniform was in order before entering. As usual, their leader sat in his chair he had created by manipulating reishi into a solid form. She bowed low before him, kneeling being impossible due to the skirt of her outfit.

"I am answering his majesty's call."

Juhabach gave a small nod before speaking. "You may rest easy, Basterbine. I am curious to how you are taking to your assignment. Do you have anything interesting to inform me of?"

"Any assignment given by his majesty is a great honor," Bambietta formally began. "Ichigo Kurosaki has asked me a few questions over the past days, which I have answered. They are simple ones, but it is a definite improvement compared to how he was before."

The Quincy Emporer nodded his head in agreement, and leaned forward in his throne. "I was very pleased when Haschwald informed me of his first question. It was a sign that the reeducation process was going along more smoothly then I had initially predicted."

He put his full attention on Bambietta, who instinct fully straightened up. "His reeducation will end soon, and then your schedule for helping to escort him around will change. His training will begin and thus take the up day, while he will gain more time to for himself in the evening."

A smile appeared on his face Juhabach's face. "I am certain you can adapt to this and any new responsibilities without difficulty. Am I correct, Miss Basterbine?"

As she had with Haschwald, she respectfully spoke "yes sir" and waited for her emperor to continue.

"Do you find him interesting, Bambietta?"

As with Ichigo's very first question, she was stumbled for a moment, but recovered herself quickly. "In a way I do, your majesty, seeing as he is one of the special war potentials" she answered, causing an amused look to form on her leader's face as he let out a chuckle.

"You are dismissed. We'll work out the exact details when the time actually comes." He deconstructed his throne as was customary when he was done addressing whoever he was meeting with. It was not until he was fully departed that Bambietta made her way out of the room.

She found herself confused by Juhabach's last question, wondering if he had really meant something by it. However, she ultimately decided that her leader had just been asking something general, and she put it out of her mind as she entered the training room reserved exclusively for the Stern Ritters.

Confusion could be easily forgotten with the practicing of destructive power.

* * *

_**And there we have it, chapter one. Now, before I go further, understand this. At the time of writing, there is a lot about these characters that have yet to be revealed. Bambietta hasn't had a full introduction yet, so I gave her personality more of a Jack-of-some-trades feel, yet what I predict her to be like. This is not to say she WILL be like this, but we just have to wait and see.**_

_**I do hope to stay in character as much as possible, and I have gone through probably a few times to check and see if everything is in order grammar wise. This is customary, which is why I like uploading late at night. It gives a few chances to overlook anything that could have been missed.**_

_**(7/4/2013: See above.)**_

_**There is a few things I will have to speculate on in the story, while the rest I will try to leave ambiguous. Being a relatively short story, things that are unknown should be rather avoidable.**_

_**On other notes, I took the inspiration of a general concept from ReEducation by Rizza Winters as well as how I'd like to see the actual manga go. Now, understand that the other story is a yaoi story, which I am actually not much of a fan of in all truth, but still a lot of the plot points were interesting.**__**.**_

_**Thanks for reading, and please review if you are able.**_


	2. Chapter 2

**Hello again! I apologize for not uploading for awhile, but I've been busy. I do intend to start uploading more frequently if possible.**

**On a side note, I will say that I hate flashback chapters! We could have been halfway to Vandenreich by now, or something! Really Kubo?!**

* * *

**Chapter Two**

"Your aim has improved greatly."

Ichigo's reishi bow dissipated, and he lowered his arms before looking at his instructor, who was gazing back at him with her… his dark pools.

The Stern Ritter Äs Nödt usually spoke very little and with almost no emotion when acting as his teacher. However, male or female, this was expected from an individual who devoted themselves to the emotion of fear.

"Thank you," he murmured in reply, and turned his attention back to the target he had been practicing on. Most of his arrows had hit what he had been aiming for, but a few had strayed and hit the wall.

The misses were expected though, and ultimately meant that he was slowly but surely becoming more of a dead shot with each training session he received. To an outside observer, it seemed as if he was a natural.

Yet, he knew this wasn't far from the truth. Combat was a concept that wasn't new to him, and according to his memories, he had faced multiple opponents in the past. Some details of these conflicts were hazy, though, and he started to contemplate why this was before catching himself.

This needed to stop happening.

When the thoughts had initially entered his mind, he had experienced difficulty subduing them. The result was him being in a dazed state that severely impeded his training. It was only until recently that he had slowly begun to have more control of his mental state. As a result, his Quincy abilities had begun to manifest at a significantly quicker rate.

Ichigo felt that he was divided between two camps, each flaring up on occasion to make their presence known. One of them labeled these thoughts as insignificant, and urged him to dismiss them and move forward. The other, acting as an opposite, faintly warned about how he was letting go of something important, and was thus losing himself.

He told himself that he'd deal with it later.

The bow formed from the Quincy cross around his wrist, and he slowly drew back the reishi arrow. Eyeing the target, he suddenly felt long fingers begin to adjust his form for him. He stiffened in response.

At some point of time when he had been deep in his thoughts, Äs Nödt had moved so that he was standing right next him.

"There are many styles when it comes to firing reishi arrows, but the traditional form would best suit you for now. Over time, it is possible you might develop your one of your own."

The Stern Ritter moved back to his original position in the room, once more returning to the activity of observation. He smiled at the shudder that the orange haired teenager produced a moment later, the lines for the expression appearing behind the black mask that covered the lower portion of his face.

"_Fear_… is a natural emotion in the face of the unknown."

Ichigo quickly returned to his training in response to the statement.

Hours passed, and fatigue began to appear as it normally did when the sessions wore on. Ichigo found himself taking longer breaths, and he was about to draw back to shoot another arrow when the door to the room opened, and in walked the petite Quincy escort that he was beginning to become familiar with.

Bambietta looked at them both for a moment, before letting out a breath. "Sorry for being late, I was needed elsewhere."

Äs Nödt remained silent, simply walking over to the door and then past the other Stern Ritter, who stared after him for a moment.

She muttered under her breath before entering the door fully, and looked at former Substitute Shinigami. "Are you ready to go?"

He gave her a nod, and they both left the room and set down the hallway, walking as was customary. At first, they didn't speak, only focusing on moving down the numerous long corridors. The silence was finally broken when Bambietta spoke.

"His majesty has decided that until you are fully ready to join the Stern Ritter, you will be assigned the rank of Soldat corporal within our army. Your suite has been stocked with the necessary uniforms."

He was silent for a moment, causing her to believe that he was displeased with this information. Her worries were put to ease a moment later.

"Good, I was beginning to feel kind of… awkward looking so out of place."

She smiled at his statement. "That's good to hear. I also know you'll address your superiors properly, right?"

"Yes ma'am!" he responded in mock enthusiasm, a grin on his face.

She simply rolled her eyes at it.

They slowly began to converse, talking about how their time in the Vandenreich was being spent. He admitted that her answers were more interesting than his as he usually just trained and slept. Just as he was going to ask about the other Stern Ritter, he suddenly felt a wave of dizziness wash over him.

Grunting, Ichigo stumbled over to the wall and reached out to support himself as he sunk to his knees. His thoughts once more felt scattered as when he had first come to the Vandenreich.

_Why does this place suddenly feel so wrong?_

He was a Quincy, and he had accepted Juhabach's invitation to explore his heritage further as well as find a place where he belonged. After all, the time he had spent in Soul Society had been a waste. As a Substitute Soul reaper, they had always treated him as a second rate citizen. His feeling of importance was next to nothing.

Before then, he had just been a teenager who had been out of place. Friends had been a rarity, and most of the time he had just spent time alone due to not having many of connections.

_No… That doesn't feel right._

Though that's what he seemed to recollect, the memories just seemed to be off. Some of the details felt wrong in addition to the feeling that there were things missing. Hueco Mundo was an example.

It had been the former Captain Aizen's base of operations, and thus Ichigo had gone there with Soul Society in order to stop him from committing his nefarious plans. In addition to this, he had also sought to save one of his sisters who had been taken by the master manipulator.

However, as he thought about it, that didn't seem to be right.

He felt that he had been there without other Soul Reapers initially, and perhaps it _wasn't_ his sister he had been trying to save.

Ichigo looked around, his mind in a strong conflict. The side he had been suppressing was making a push to break the containment he had put on it. If he didn't gain control, chances were that it would overtake him. His eyes then fell upon Bambietta, who was now standing next to him, and he noticed the concern in her eyes.

The unwanted thoughts he had been experiencing were suddenly pushed down to the level of control he had been previously maintain them at. He closed his eyes for a moment, and let out a breath as he regained his composure.

_These are my comrades._

"Ichigo, what's wrong?"

He opened his eyes, and smiled up at the Petite Quincy before standing up. "Nothing, I guess I was just more tired than I thought I was."

She didn't seem entirely convinced, eyeing him for a moment. "Are you sure?"

He gave her a nod in confirmation before speaking once more. "If it's alright with you Miss Bambietta, I think I'll hurry back to my room on my own before my body tries collapse again."

When she stated that she had no objections to this, he quickly gave her a farewell and made his way to his suite. The uniforms entered his mind and he gave them a quick examination.

He felt at peace.

* * *

Was he really alright?

Yes he had told her that he was, but she still possessed some doubts to whether or not this was true. It was this that convinced Bambietta that she needed to report it, and she set out to find Haschwald.

Upon finding the blond Quincy, he silently took her to the throne room where Juhabach waited once more for her to arrive. She quickly bowed to him alongside the other Stern Ritter, and upon him asking her to give him a full report, she did so immediately.

When she finished, he didn't speak for a moment. Finally, he smiled.

"Well, this is very interesting I must say."

Bambietta blinked. "What do you mean your majesty?"

"I mean that we knew such a breakdown was possible. With his reeducation over, he seemed to be very accepting of his situation. Though with how strong willed he is, an incident was very likely of occurring."

Haschwald spoke up from the petite Quincy in front of him. "It seems you were correct on the decision to not give him a full amnesia, your majesty."

Juhabach nodded, but noticed Bambietta's confusion. He stood, his throne disappearing. "When I first brought Ichigo to Vandenreich, I debated upon whether or not to wipe his memories fully, as we do with the Arrancar. However, I realized we would be wasting a lot. His traits are also very valuable with his status as a special war potential."

He began to walk towards the throne room wall. "So, instead, I simply inserted in new beliefs about certain things, and removed a few details that would stagger his development. One such is his loyalty to protect his friends and comrades. We knew about how close he was, and removed them from memory and made his former Soul Reaper allies appear to be complete strangers."

Stopping, he looked over at the petite Stern Ritter. "This was evident when the relapse was taken care of by simply seeing you next to him. Ichigo now values his Quincy heritage highly, and will protect and fight for us as he would have for his friends before the reeducation. Personality wise, he is the same besides a few minor things here and there, but with the changes made, he is a valuable individual within the ranks of the Vandenreich."

She thought about what her leader had said before responding. "I thank you for clarifying, your majesty."

He smiled. "Go and rest, Miss Basterbine. You are being sent out on an assignment tomorrow."

"A mission, your majesty?"

"It is actually more of a military action within the domain of our kingdom."

She gave a bow before heading to the door, and right as she had reached it, Juhabach called out to once more.

"Ichigo will be coming."

Bambietta stumbled as she left the room.

* * *

Haschwald watched her leave, and upon the door closing completely, he looked towards the Quincy emperor, who seemed to be thinking.

"Are you sure this is the course of action that should be taken?"

"If he is to be a Stern Ritter, he needs to know the feel of battle with his Quincy abilities." Juhabach continued to look ahead in a thoughtful manner. "With this experience, facing the Shinigami will be without difficulty."

He smiled at his second in command. "Besides, I plan to send you as well in order to make sure the operation is entirely successful."

Haschwald closed his eyes, and bowed low.

"It will be done, your majesty."

* * *

Standing at attention was something that he would have to get used to.

Although Ichigo remembered doing it once or twice in the past, he felt slightly uncomfortable with it now. Perhaps his discomfort originated from the other Quincy that stood on either side of him silently, obviously more practiced in this formal art. His mind was telling him that he was just growing increasingly bored as the minutes passed.

A messenger had come to him in the morning and told him that he was to be sent out on his first assignment. He had received a time to report to the throne room for briefing. Naturally, excitement as well as anxiety had entered him. However, both feelings seemed to have left him for the moment as he stood in the row.

He glanced around the room, his attention slowly going to the two Stern Ritter who were also present as well. Haschwald and Bambietta had also been called by the Vandenreich leader, and they stood in a similar manner them, albeit in a bit more of a relaxed fashion. The blond Quincy simply looked down at the ground, not really showing anything on the surface of his face.

However, when Ichigo shifted his gaze to the petite girl that stood next to Haschwald, their eyes met for a moment before they both looked elsewhere. There was an odd feeling within him, and a few questions appeared in his mind. Before he had time to process them, the Quincy emperor arrived.

Juhabach smiled at the assembled group, before proceeding to the spot his throne normally was and constructed it with reishi.

"Now, let's get started," he said sitting down.

A soldier in the corner who was part of the Vandenreich Technology Unit activated a device that caused a bluish hologram to appear in the center of the throne room. It showed the former Arrancar base of Las Noches, now decimated to ruins.

"As you may know, Hueco Mundo is our territory. The Arrancar under the Espada that ruled it put up a minor fight, but were ultimately defeated. However, there appears to be a new resistance forming, led by some stronger Arrancar who have decided to work together despite their nature usually making them desire to do otherwise."

He continued as the image flickered to show a small camp where several of the mentioned Arrancar stood around, apparently keeping watch. "Admittedly, we have not had a Jagdarmee in the area for some time, so this confidence they are finding is not unexpected. I will say that when this uprising is crushed, it is unlikely another will occur, most likely not for a long period of time."

Once more the image changed to show two new Arrancar, standing near each other. "These are the leaders of the uprising, though we have yet to obtain any sort of names for either of them. However, they should be arrogant enough to fight directly, as the tendencies of their kind usually makes them."

Ichigo looked at the picture of the two individuals. Both of them were roughly summarized up by the word "brutish". While the taller one appeared stronger, he caught the malevolent glint of manipulation and cunning in the eyes of the other.

He would be the one to become increasingly dangerous as a final confrontation drew near.

"Their current base of operations appears to be within the ruins of the Las Noches, which despite being damaged from past battles is still serving the purpose of a fortress rather well. You will be placed a little bit away in order to make sure they remain unaware of our return to Hueco Mundo."

Juhabach looked around at them all. "The Stern Ritter accompanying you have been briefed further about the operation, and will be in command for its entirety." He smiled. "Go, my soldiers, and show these abominations what it means to face the purification of the Vandenreich."

"Yes, your majesty!"

Ichigo, fortunate enough to remember this protocol, chimed in alongside the others who were assembled. He watched as the Quincy leader walked over to the Stern Ritter, telling them something he was unable to hear, before departing the room.

Haschwald then spoke, directing them to follow as he begun to lead them to the Gate of Sun. Ichigo followed along in the group, his eyes focusing on the backs of the two Stern Ritters from his position in the middle.

His previous excitement reemerged, and he looked forward to arriving in Hueco Mundo. Admittedly, several questions about a few recent things that had transpired were also present, but they gained little attention from the orange haired teenager.

Once more, they were saved for another time.

* * *

**Yes, I do believe Äs Nödt is still alive. Until these flashback chapters end, and we get to see the Vandenreich again, there is no way to know.**

**(7/4/2013: He/she was!)**

**I wanted to explore a few psychological elements in this chapter due to curiosity of how the Bleach hero would deal with his mind being altered. Strong willed, I think it would play off like this. I also believe the reeducation process of the Quincy is verbal rather than chemical.**

**Oh, if you wonder what Ichigo's uniform looks like at this time, it is of the same appearance as Kirge's soldiers. Seemed logical to have him start off at a lower rank to get practice in.**

**Thank you for reading, and do review.**

**Sincerely,**

**Dell Hopkins.**


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